![\"Greeting\"](\"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Greeting.jpg\")
Some years ago, I ran across a person who asked me, \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d.\u00a0 I issued the standard answer, \u201cfine,\u201d thinking nothing of it.\u00a0 End of conversation, nothing interesting said.<\/p>\nSome years ago, I ran across a person who asked me, \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d.\u00a0 I issued the standard answer, \u201cfine,\u201d thinking nothing of it.\u00a0 End of conversation, nothing interesting said.<\/p>\n
For those of you outside the US, you need to understand that this is a totally normal interchange.\u00a0 The real intent of it is to acknowledge the other person’s existence, without having any actual investment in the relationship.\u00a0 It’s equivalent to each person saying “hello,” but only slightly less boring.<\/p>\n
What was interesting this time was that the other person then proceeded to ask me, “What would it take to change it from ‘fine’ to ‘wonderful’?”\u00a0 Now THIS was a question worth considering.\u00a0 We had a conversation going.<\/p>\n
Ultimately we explored the impact that these kinds of words have on your own thinking.\u00a0 Since then, I’ve been running an experiment.\u00a0 When someone asks me, “How’s it going?”, I generally answer “wonderful!” or “fantastic!” or something similar.\u00a0 Then I observe the impact that it has on the other person.\u00a0 Usually, it gives them pause, and can even create an actual conversation.<\/p>\n
I’m also looking to see what effect it has on my own attitude.\u00a0 I’ve found that it does indeed improve my own mindset.\u00a0 Because I’m being more positive in front of someone else, it makes me more positive to myself.<\/p>\n
Interesting, huh?<\/p>\n
So here’s the experiment that I’d like you to run during this season of gratitude:\u00a0 When you have an interaction with someone, no matter how small, express something more positive than you would normally say and feel.\u00a0 Instead of feeling just OK, say that you’re “great!”.\u00a0 If you appreciate the help that someone offered, tell them that you’re REALLY grateful and would be honored to help them out next time.<\/p>\n
It’s an experiment, so it’s OK if it doesn’t work out the way you’d expect.<\/p>\n
Look at how it engages the other person differently.\u00a0 If you’re being authentic, they’ll probably adopt a more positive attitude in response.\u00a0 And I would guess that your own frame of mind will shift as well.<\/p>\n
When you tell ten people that you’re “fine…” then you’ll just feel fine.\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 When you tell ten people that your day is becoming awesome, you’ll feel … quite a bit better than just fine.\u00a0 Maybe not actually awesome, but a lot closer than when you started.<\/p>\n
The next step, if you have the courage, is to look for opportunities to give people gratitude and positive vibes even when they don’t ask for it.\u00a0 Go ahead, shock your boss by telling her something specific that you appreciated.\u00a0 Do it once a week, and your boss might start thinking that you’re a more valuable worker because you actually enjoy working for her.<\/p>\n
Those folks over in the other department that you’re always griping about?\u00a0 Find some things that you appreciate about them, and let them know.\u00a0 They’ll start feeling better about helping you, rather than just considering you as an annoyance.<\/p>\n
And your family?\u00a0 Tell them you love them.\u00a0 For real.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some years ago, I ran across a person who asked me, \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d.\u00a0 I issued the standard answer, \u201cfine,\u201d thinking nothing of it.\u00a0 End of conversation, nothing interesting said. […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[76,41,18,39],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-carl","4":"has-more-link","5":"post-1288","7":"format-standard","8":"category-career","9":"post_tag-career","10":"post_tag-influence","11":"post_tag-relationships","12":"post_tag-values"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1290,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions\/1290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}